Inkstand



March 17, 1942. G. J. SENGBUSCH INKSTAND Filed May 18. 1940 mlllllmm m II I u I I 25 27 GMSLQUJBQWbaSU/L INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY 5 Patented Mar. 17, 1942 OFFICE This invention relates toimprovements in inkstands and more particularly to inkstands of the typewherein a relatively large supply of ink is stored in a receptacle and arelatively small quantity of ink contained in a clipping well whichautomatically receives a supply of ink from the receptacle in such a waythat the depth of the ink in the well is maintained substantiallyconstant.

The main objects of the invention are to provide an inkstand of thecharacter indicated wherein the main ink receptacle may be a more orless standard, commercially available, small bottle of ink such as isusually purchased for use in homes and other places where a small supplyof ink is ordinarily sufficient; to provide an inkstand wherein such abottle of ink may readily be combined with a permanent part in such away as to constitute, in effect, a complete desk set which has all theappearances of a wholly factory-made set; to provide an inkstand of thecharacter indicated which will efiectively retain in the main receptaclethe bulk of the ink'supply in such a way that if the inkstand shouldaccidentally be upset, only a minimum amount of ink will be free to bespilled out; to provide an inkstand of the character indicated in whichmeans are provided for supporting a pen in conveniently accessibleupright position with its pen point partially immersed in ink so as tobe instantly ready for withdrawal for writing purposes; to provide anarrangement whereby the pen point, although immersed to only a veryshallow depth in ink, will nevertheless receive a substantial supply ofink so as to be capable of extended writing without requiring repeateddipping; and to provide an inkstand of the type indicated which may bemanufactured economically and at very low cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawingwherein there is illustrated a selected embodiment of the improvedinkstand.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a plan, the main ink receptacle or ink bottle being removedand omitted;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sections on the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, ofFig. 1 but showing the main ink receptacle or ink bottle in operativeposition;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of an element of the structure; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan.

Referring now to the drawing, the improved inkstand comprises a mainbase part l0 which may conveniently be made of molded rubber or othercomposition material which has the capacity of withstanding corrosion byink. With the base part l0, there is associated an ink bottle I l whichmay be of glass, the same being employed in inverted position afterbeing supplied with a special form of stopper l2. The base I0 is furtherprovided with a pen socket I3 for receiving and positioning a pen M inconveniently accessible position.

The main ink receptacle or bottle II is, in this instance, a roundbottle and it may be one of the commercially available bottles of abouttwoounce size which when furnished is provided with a screw cap securedto the bottle by means of external screw threading [5 provided on theneck it of the bottle.

The special stopper [2 is preferably made of I a good grade of rubberwhich will not be affected by ink and, as shown in the drawing, is inthe form of a fairly thick disc having a main body portion l1 adapted tobe inserted in the neck of the bottle, the outside size of said bodyportion being such as to fit fairly snugly in the bottle.

The stopper also includes an outer end portion l8 which extends beyondthe periphery of the inner portion I! so as to constitute a peripheralflange for engagement with the mouth end of the bottle to limitinsertion of the stopper thereinto. The stopper is provided in its innerportion with a centrally disposed recess IS, the same being preferablyof circular form and the outer portion of the stopper is provided with anarrow elongated opening 20 which extends substantially diametrically ofthe stopper. In one practical device, the opening 20 measures from -5;"to in length and about in width.

The opening I9 is provided instead of continuing the narrow elongatedaperture 20 completely through the stopper so as to facilitate thepassage of ink through the opening 20. The opening 20 is of such sizethat it constitutes a capillary control for the flow of ink from thebottle. With the stopper in place in the bottle, the bottle containingink may easily be inverted without spilling a single drop, particularlyif the bottle is turned about an axis which extends parallel with thelength of the opening 20. In that manner but little chance is providedfor air to flow into the bottle through one side of the opening whileink is flowing across the same.

The main base H) of the structure is so formed as to provide a chamber2| which receives the bottle, the bottom 22 of the chamber beinginclined downwardly and inwardly toward a centrally disposed, upstandingboss 23. The boss 23 is made of a predetermined height and it is adaptedto constitute a seat for the inverted ink bottle which rests thereonthrough the agency of its stopper as clearly shown in the drawing.

The upstanding boss 23 is provided with a diametrically extending slot24, the same being, in one practical embodiment of this construction,about /8 in width and being tapered in depth as best shown in Figure 3so as to provide a slanted or downwardly and forwardly inclined bottom25. As shown in Figure 3, the slot 24 in the forward portion of the bossextends through the full thickness or depth of the boss so that thebottom 26 of said forward portion of the slot is on the same level asthe'bottom 2'! of a well 28. The well 28 extends forwardly andcommunicates at its front end with'the lower end of the pen socket l3 asclearly shown in Figure 3-.

For locking the bottle II in place in the base Ill, a suitable screw25-? may be threaded through a wall portion of the base in such a mannerthat its inner end will engage the neck of the bottle immediately abovean external rib 30. The base i 0 is. further provided with a supportingformation 3| of any suitable configuration which provides a relativelywide dimension which is so related to the hei ht of the inkstandincluding its bottle as to p ovide adequate, non-tipping support for thedevice. Said supporting structure 3;! also embraces the pen socket l3 asclearly shown.

The pen socket l3 in this instance is of generally tapering form, theforward wall portion 32 thereof being substantially straight(vertically)- and of inverted conical form. The upper rear portion ofthe pen socket I3 is also of inverted conical form, constituting acontinuation of the upper front part of the socket but the lower rear orouter portion of the socket is preferably fiattened transversely asindicated at 33 and humped inwardly so as to be adaptedto cooperate withthe flattened under-side 34 of a feed bar 35 which is carried by the penl4. Suitable ribs such asindicated at 3.6 are provided for engaging thelower end portion of the 'pen as illustrated, thereby to maintain saidportion of the pen in centrally disposed position in the socket with airpassageways such as indicated at 3 intermediate the ribs all around thepen.

The ventingof the socket in this manner has the beneficial effect ofeliminating or reducing accumulation of ink onthe end of the pen holder,whereby the latter is maintained relatively clean. The socketarrangement is such that. when the pen holder is in its rest position inthe socket the lower end or nib 3 82 of the pen point will be immersedin ink contained in said well 28, the front face 39 of the pen pointengaging the lower front wall portion '10; of the socket. Suchengagement between the pen point and the wall of the socket cooperateswith the seating of the pen holder in, the upper end of the socket tohold the pen holder in redetermined, upstanding, conveniently accessibleposition.

The flattened hump portion 3.3 of the socket serves to cooperate. withthe back of the feed bar, 35 to, insure positioning of the pen with. thefront, of the pen point in engagement with said wall portion. In thenormal removal of the pen from the. socket and replacement thereof in.the

socket, it is found that the pen is ordinarily grasped substantially inthe way in which the pen is held for writing purposes, and then returnedto the socket without having been turned in the fingers to anysubstantial extent. Hence, when the pen s replaced it is ordinarilyinserted in the socket in such a position that the flattened back of thefeed bar will be in cooperative relation to the flattened humped portionof the socket to insure the said positioning of the pen in the socket.

It will be observed that even though the pen is rotated to a certainextent, the interengaging portions of the feed bar and socket portionwill tend to cam the pen to its position of rotary alignment with thefront of the socket. Only in the event that the pen is rotated to anunusual degree will the back of the feed bar and flattened humpedportion of the socket fail to operate in the manner indicated. In thatevent the, pen very noticeably fails to resume its. proper seated.osition and the person using the pen may readily correct the penposition.

In one commercial embodiment of the described structure it is found thatthe pen may be turned approximately 90 degrees in either direction fromits normal seated position without preventing proper operation of thedescribed arrangement for effecting rotary alignment of the pen.

A device, constructed as above, described operates to supply ink fromthe bottle to the well 28 and it is found that the ink does notordinarily rise above the greatest depth of the well 28, i. e.,v thedepth thereof adjacent the outer wall of the chamber 2|, substantiallyas indicated by the broken line- H in, Figure 3-. The nib of the penpoint is, thus irnmersed and it is found that capillary action causesthe ink to rise up.- wardly on the pen point, such capillary actionbeing increased when the ink reaches the wall portion 4-8 of the socket.The capillary action produced by cooperation of'the wall portion 40 ofthe socket and the adjacent surface of the pen point serves to carry inkupwardly by capillary action to an extent which insures asuflicientsupply of to permit extended writing therewith without; repeateddipping. Some of such ink finds its way through the usual slit: andopening in the pen point into the slots of the. feed bar 35. The feedbar structure may bev substantially the same as that shown, in myPatent. No. 1,9i5,338.

Ink is delivered from. the receptacle l- 1: through the slot 20 in thestopper and through the slot 24 in the supporting boss; 23; incident toa capillary action along the walls of said slots- 2!! and M. It appearsthat ink tends, to creepdown the walls of the stopper slot 20 and finds.its; way into the slot 24, creeping down: the walls thereof. Theinclined bottom 25 of a. portion of: the slot 24- serves. to cause inkto accumulate in the small wedge-shaped space indicated at: 42. betweenthe bottom 25 of the slot 24 and the.- adiacent surface of the stopper,such accumulation of ink'. serving as a sort of lead for inducingcontinued flow of ink under normal. circumstances; The opening 20 in thebottle stopper isclosed against the entrance of air into the bottle H byink which tends to pile up" within the slot 24'- of the boss 23, so thatink does not normally reach a depth in the bottom chamber 2-1 which.would bring. the level of ink up to the bottom of the stopper.

Under normal conditions the levelof ink does not rise above thelevelindicated by the line 4|.

Under varying temperatur and pressure conditions of the atmosphere, thelevel of ink may change somewhat and even when ink is displaced from thebottle incidentto high temperature or low pressure, the'amount of ink sodisplaced is received in the entire area of the chamber below the bottlestopper, so that such displaced ink is spread out over a wide area withthe result that th depth of ink in the well 28 does not vary to anobjectionable extent.

For insuring proper alignment of the bottle stopper j opening 20 withthe slot 24, the bottle therefrom.

The opening through which the :pen socket I3 communicates with thechamber 2| of the base may be of any form, it being shown in thisinstance as of inverted V-shape (see Figure 4), the same beingincidental to the intersection of th conical socket opening l3 with thechamber 2 l. The opening may be specially shaped otherwise if desired.

The base of the described structure may be made very inexpensively by awell-known molding process in which suitable material is delivered underpressure to a form which will produce the entire base structure as anintegrally constructedchamber completely finished upon removal from themold. If desired, suitable rubber feet may be attached to the base whichmay be provided with suitable feet-receiving sockets molded integrallytherewith as indicated at 45, the same being located at suitable placesin the base structure. The rubber stopper member may also be molded andcured to produce a completely finished member in a single operation and,of course, the bottle II is an obviously inexpensive part of thestructure.

The base may be initially furnished With a bottle and stopper which ismade to fit the base and which bottle may be filled from any othersupply of ink, or the base may be sold in connection with a full bottleof ink of the proper size to fit the base. A full bottle of ink may befurnished with the described rubber stopper in place covered by a screwcap secured to the neck of the bottle in the manner already explained,so that when the purchaser is ready to set up the inkstand, all that isrequired is to remove the screw cap, and invert and insert th bottle inthe base.

The base may, of course, be made for use in connection with other shapesof bottles and it is not essential that the bottle actually fit theshape of the chamber 2| so long as it will accommodate a stopper whichmay be properly seated on the raised boss 23. The interengaging pins andsockets 44, 43, may be relied upon either wholly or in part to hold thebottle in its proper upright position and any interengagement of thewalls of the bottle with the upstanding walls of the base may besufficient for maintaining a bottle in operative position in the base.

are'intended to be construed with reference to the said principlesrather than to the specific details of the structure.

I claim:

1. In an inkstand of the class described, a

receptacle having a pen socket communicating therewith, an ink bottle insaid receptacle provided with an ink outlet in its lower end, said inkoutlet being of relatively small size so as to resist the free flow ofink therethrough, means formed on the bottom of said receptacle forassociation with said outlet openingv and adapted to assist the flow ofink through said opening by capillary action, and cooperating meanscarried by the lower end of said bottle and the bottom of said receptaclfor positioning said bottle with its outlet opening in operativelyaligned relation to said means.

2. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle having a pensocket communicating therewith, an ink bottle in said receptacleprovided with an elongated ink outlet in its lower end, said ink outletbeing of relatively small size so as to resist the free flow of. inktherethrough, means formed on the bottom of said receptacle forassociation with said outlet opening and adapted to assist the flow ofvink through said opening by capillary action, and cooperating means onthe lower end of said bottle and on the bottom of said receptacle forpositioning said bottle with its outlet opening in operatively alignedrelation to said means.

3. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle having a bottomWall provided with an ink well and with an elongated slot for conductingink to said well, there being also a pen socket associated with saidreceptacle and communicating with said well, an ink bottle having a widemouth and provided with a removable stopper, said stopper having anelongated ink outlet slot, said ink bottle and stopper being insertablein inverted position in said receptacle with said outlet slotsubstantially in register with said slot in the bottom of thereceptacle, and

means for insuring such registration of said slots comprising aninterengaging pin and hole in said stopper and receptacle bottom.

4. In an inkstand of the class described, a

receptacle having a bottom wall provided with an ink well and with apassageway for conducting ink to said well, there being also a pensocket associated with said receptacle and communicating with said well,an ink bottle seated in inverted positionin said receptacle so as todeliver ink to said passageway, a screw threaded through the wall ofsaid receptacle and adapted to engage said bottle, the latter having anexternal rib underlying said screw, whereby the bottle is locked to saidreceptacle, and interengaging means carried by the outlet end of saidink bottle and the bottom of said receptacle for resisting lateraldisplacement of the bottle by said screw.

5. In an inkstand of the class described, a

receptacle and apen socket communicating at by to provide between saidpen point and socket portion capillary ink feeding means adapted tocarry ink upwardly on said pen point, and means in the lower portion ofsaid socket for insuring rotary positioning of the pen with the top orfront of the pen point adjacent said socket wall portion.

6. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle and a pen socketcommunicating 'at'. its lower end with said receptacle, a pen having apen point and a flattened-back feed bar associated with said pen point,said, socket being disposed at an angle to the vertical whereby a pendisposed in said socket will tend to fall in such direction as to causethe pen point to engage the forward portion of the socket, thereby toprovide'between said pen point and socket portion capillary ink feedingmeans adapted to carry ink upwardly on said pen point, and meanscomprising a transversely flattened wall portion formed in the lowerportion of said socket for cooperating with the feed bar of the pen toeffect disposition of the pen in, the socket with the front of the penpoint adjacent said socket wall portion.

'7. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle and an inkbottle having an outlet opening in its lower end, means in the bottom ofsaid receptacle normally registering with said outlet opening forcooperating therewith to discharge ink from the bottle, a screw threadedthrough a wall portion of said receptacle-and adapted to engage saidbottle for locking the latter in place in said receptacle, said bottleand receptacle being provided with interengaging 1 means for resistinglateral displacement of the bottle by said screw so as to maintain saidfirst mentioned means and outlet opening in said registeredrelationship.

8. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle having a bottomwall provided with an ink. well and an elongated slot for conducting inkto said well, an ink bottle having a mouth and being provided with astopper having an elongated ink outlet slot, said ink bottle and stopperbeing insertable in inverted position in said receptacle with saidoutlet slot substantially in register with said slot in the bottom ofthe receptacle, a screw threaded through the wall of said receptacle forengaging said bottle to lock the same in the receptacle, andinterengaging means carried by the outlet end of said ink bottle and thebottom of said receptacle for resisting lateral displacement of thebottle by said screw and maintaining said registration of said slots.

9. In an inkstand of the class described, a receptacle and a pen socketcommunicating at its lower end with said receptacle, said socket beingdisposed at an angle to the vertical whereby a pen disposed in saidsocket will tend to fall in such direction as to cause the pen point toengage the forward portion of the socket, thereby to provide betweensaid pen point and socket portion capillary ink feeding'means adapted tocarry ink upwardly on said pen point, and loosely interfitting meanscarried by said pen and socket, respectively, for automatically, as anincident to insertion of the pen, effecting sufficient rotary adjustmentof the pen to insure its positioning in the socket with the top or frontof the pen point adjacent said forward portion of the socket.

GUSTAV J. SENGBUSCH.

